Aurora Dawson's Arc

Chapter 2 of 7

The river had stopped them cold. But the two gliding creatures did not turn back. They scampered along the bank, then swung away from the water and down a low slope. Aurora followed, her companion riding her shoulder. Dominic came behind her, watching the animals like they might vanish. "They know something we don't," Aurora said. "They usually do," Dominic said. His grin came easy, but his eyes stayed on the path. The creatures led them east all afternoon. The ground fell away in gentle steps. Then the air changed. Aurora smelled salt. She broke into a run and stopped at the edge of a wide beach. The ocean spread out, blue and endless. She laughed. This was why she came to this world. To dive where no one had dived. "There," she said, pointing. Rocks rose from the water in a broken line, leading out toward the deep. They jumped from rock to rock. The gliding creatures leapt ahead, sure-footed on the wet stone. Salt spray hit Aurora's face. Her boots slid once, but she caught herself and grinned back at Dominic. At the last rock the water turned dark and deep. Aurora crouched to catch her breath. Then something big moved below the surface. "Dom." She grabbed his arm. A long shape rose. It was like a dolphin, but twenty feet long, with broad side fins and smooth blue-gray skin. A clear pod bulged along its back. A second one surfaced beside it. They circled the rock, calm and slow. "They're not attacking," Dominic said. He sounded like he was trying to believe it. Then the two gliding creatures did something impossible. They leapt off the rock. Aurora reached for hers too late. Each animal landed on a broad back and slipped inside the clear pod. The pod sealed around them. "No," Aurora breathed. The great creatures dove. The water closed over them. The gliding animals were gone, sealed inside, underwater. "They'll drown," she said. She stood at the edge, ready to jump in. Dominic caught her wrist, the way he had on the cliff. "Wait. Look at those pods. They're sealed. Made for it." His voice was steady now. "Give them a minute." She hated waiting. She counted seconds. Ten. Thirty. A minute. The sea stayed empty. Her chest tightened. Then the water broke. The two long creatures rose, and the pods opened. The gliding animals climbed out, dry, shaking themselves. Each one carried a mouthful of green underwater plants. Her companion leapt back onto the rock and dropped the plants at her feet. They were thick and glossy, torn from the deep seafloor. Aurora stared. The gliding creatures and the sea creatures worked together. They rode down, gathered food, rode up. She picked up a plant and turned it in her hands. "They didn't lead us here for the beach," she said slowly. "They brought us to something bigger." Dominic knelt beside her. "Then we're not done exploring." Aurora looked at the deep water where the creatures waited. She wanted to go down there. She just didn't know how yet.